CONNACHT HOPING TO RISE FROM GUT SHOT
CHEETAHS 26 CONNACHT 25
CONNACHT coach Kieran Keane has said that Saturday’s ‘gut-wrenching’ loss in Bloemfontein will make his squad stronger.
His men were poised for a shock win when they led by two points going into the final minute of a cracker at Toyota Stadium.
But the South Africans, beaten only once in their own back yard since joining the Pro14, staged one final rally and out-half Niel Marais slotted a match-winning penalty from the left to snatch victory.
It was cruel fortune on a Connacht side who battled superbly in the heat and thin air of the Highveld.
They recovered from a slow start, when they fell 10-0 behind after just 10 minutes, to trail 16-15 at the break after Matt Healy finished off two training ground set-piece moves to score twice in the left corner.
But having put together a superb second-half display, which included Jack Carty setting Eoin Griffin up for a try to extend their lead to 23-16 after 58 minutes, they got caught at the death, in a blow to their Pro14 hopes.
‘It will hurt us in that regard, no doubt about that,’ admitted Keane when asked what impact the loss might have on their chances of making the play-offs.
‘Nothing is impossible, things could fall our way. But we have got to take this, there is a lesson or two in there. The one thing I know about this group is that we will learn from it.
‘We have had a great tour, apart from losing a game in the 79th minute,’ added Keane, whose side return to Ireland after a tour which saw them win 22-19 in Treviso and pick up a bonus point in Bloemfontein.
They outscored the Cheetahs by three tries to two but just couldn’t close the deal, having let the South Africans in for a soft early try and then coughing up that crucial penalty.
‘Some of our things out there today were really good,’ added Keane.
‘Our set-piece try that we scored was a cracker. We didn’t really handle the pressure terribly well. And of course we coughed up some ball. Cheetahs love having the ball as we know.
‘It’s gut-wrenching for everybody to come that far and fall on the last hurdle,’ said the Connacht coach.